Painting apparatus



Nam 13, 1928.

T. BIRKENMAIER PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 18, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. BlRKENMAiE-IR PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 18, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE BIRKENMAIER, 01? ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO\W. N. MATTHEWS CORPORATION, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

PAINTING APIfARATUS.

Application filed October 18, 1924. Serial No. 744,335.

This invention relates to paint pots and with regard to certain more specific features, to pots for holding paint under pressure an for delive ringthe same under a constant pressure. i

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of a device of the kind described which shall keep its contents under a pressure, shall deliver them at predetermined and adjustable pressures which remain constant after adjustment, shall deliver air at predetermined constant pressures, and the provision of such a device which is simple to manufacture and not readily clogged while in operation. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of ele- 2o ments and arrangements of parts, which are exemplified in the description hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

2a In the accompanying drawings, in which are illustrated two of various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the invention and,

3 Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig". 1.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1 there is illustrated at 1 a paint pot of simple construction comprising a cylinder with a smooth flat bottom. It may be cast or 5 stamped, but in the present embodiment an aluminum casting is preferred.

The pot 1 is provided with a cover 3. A groove 5 in the cover 3 receives a gasket 7. The cover 3 is mounted on the pot 1 bv means of the groove 5, and the gasket 7, within sald groove becomes a sealing member between pot and cover.

The cover may be drawn down tightly on the pot by means 'of draw studs 9. These are threaded, ass through open-ended slots in lugs 11 an are provided with wing nuts 13 above said lugs. At their lower ends they are provided with eyes and are pinned to lugs p 15 formed integrally with the pot The lugs 11 form part of the cover. By this means the cover may be drawn down tightly upon turning the wing nutsand the interior of the pot made air tight. When the cover is off, the

draw-bolts 9 swing downwardly and out of the way.

The cover 3, itself, is provided with several novel features. It is the purpose of the a paratus, as here embodied, to have one inta e valve for air, to send air obtained through this valve through two branches; one in which it passes through a regulator for governing the pressure on the paint within the pot and the other in which it passes through a regulator governing the pressure within an air manifold. The paintis to be drawn off from the vessel from a single port and some of the air (that which never enters the pot) from two ports of the manifold. The reason for this arrangement is the use of two types of spraying devices to be fed by the device 7 under consideration. One of the spraying devices requires both a pressure-fed air line and a pressure-fed paint line, while the other requires a pressure-fed air line only. The latter device carries its own paint or liquid 7 supply and has a ravity feed for the same.

In accordance wlth the above purpose there are mountedon the cover, two pressure regulators, one regulator 17 of high pressure capacity, and the other,19, of low pressure capacity. The high pressure regulator 17 governs the air pressure to the spraying devices. It is fastened to the cover 3 by means of the standard 21, cast integrally with the regulator and bolted to the cover 3 with the bolt 23. This regulator has connected therewith, by means of nipple 25, the manifold 27 It is the air pressure in this mani-' fold that, the regulator governs. The manifold 27 has a gage 29 fastened thereto for reading pressures and two valves 31, 33 leading to outlets 35, 37 from which air is led to the spraying devices by flexible tubing.

The 0th! :r low pressure'regulator 19 has a standard 39 to which it is cast and by means of which it is fastened to the cover 3. The fastening" here, however comprises a nipple 45 and a passage is left through the cover so that air pressure may be conveyed to the inside of the pot. Both the high and low ressure standards 21 8.11339 are hollow from end to end but in the case of the high pressure standard 21 the lower passage has been closed by bolt 23. In the upper passage of the lowpressure regulator 19 is screwed the L 41 to which is fastened the gage 43 for readlng inch. Furthermore, the compressing device is so proportioned that at no time can it compress more than to approximately 170 pounds per square inch. This obviates the danger of an explosion. The pressure in the manifold 27 may be carried much higher as its small size permits of ample metal thickness, for

the pressures carried. Thus it is evident that one design of regulator serves for both high and low pressures. Also, the gages may be duplicates. This duplication lends itself to economical manufacture.

Nipples 49 and 51 connect both regulators to a common air inlet valve 53 to which is led high pressure air.

The air from the low pressure regulator passes into the pot by way of nipple and the U-tube 55, which tube ends upwardly into a blind hole 57 bored into the cover 3. This hole is only slightl larger than the tube and the tube has a slig t end-clearance. The object of this is to provide a pocket of air around the end of the tube which when compressed by splashed slugs of paint (assuming the bucket to be rough y handled) does not permit said slugs to, enter and clog the tube to the regulator or get into the regulator itself. This action is facilitated in that a paint film forms between the tube and the lower ed e of the hole 57.

he pot is also provided with a hole 58 into which is screwed on the outside the blow-off cock 59 for releasing the pressure in the pot preparato also provi ed with an inwardly extending Utube 61 which ends upwardly in the blind hole 63. The function of this tube and hole is the same as that of tube 55 and hole 57 and prevents paint mist from blowing into the atmosphere when pressure is released.

Paint or liquid is drawn from the pot by means of the vertical tube 65, screwed into a pocket 67 of the cover. Screwed into and leading to this pocket is the horizontal cock 69 which is adapted to receive a flexible paint line. The vertical pipe ends near the bottom of the pot thus making it possible to draw off practically all of its contents. Heretofore liquid has usually been drawn from the bottom by arranging an outlet in the bottom itself. This multiplies andflcomplicates the constructive work to be done ,on said pot bottom.

A safety valve 71 is provided in the cover for over pressures.

The operation of the pot is as follows:

The pot is filled to a predetermined level with, say paint. The cover is applied and to refilling it. The hole 58 is clamped down with the draw bolts 9 and wing nuts 13 cooperating with the outstanding lugs 11. The device is now air tight. An air pressure line is connected to the valve 53 carrying say 125 lbs. per square inch. A paint line is connected to the outlet valve 69. This leads to a paint gun which has an air line connecting with the valve 31 of the air manifold 27. Thus this paint gun receives both air and paint from the present device. It is required that the paint come at a lower pressure than the air and that both have constant pressures.

Another paint gun has an airline connected with the valve 33 of the manifold 27 but receives no paint as it has its own separate gravity-fed supply. I

The pot is now real for operation. All the valves are opened. The low-pressure regulator is adjusted to, say 40 pounds per square inch. Air passes into the valve 53 at, say 125 pounds per square inch, some through the low pressure regulator, standard 39, nipple 40, U-tube 55, blind hole 5.7 and into the interior of the pot exerting a pressure of 40 pounds per square inch after having been reduced in pressure in the regulator. The paint is thus forced up the pipe 65, through the passage 61, valve 69 and to the paint gun already referred to.

Meanwhile some of the high pressure air 125 pounds per square inch) has gone t rough the nipple 51 to the highpressure regulator 17, through the standard 21, u

through the nipple 25, into the manifold 2 and out the valves 33 and 31 to the respective guns, having been reduced in pressure to say 100 pounds per square inch. The 0 eration will continue until the paint level rope to the bottom of the vertical tube 65.

To cease operations the valves are turned off and the cock 59 opened, whereupon the pressure is released within the pot without spraying paint into the air.

The cover may now be removed and the pot emptied, or refilled for further use. It is evident that the cook 59 and regulator 19 are two of various types of operating accessories which may be fastened to a vessel and that the improved U-tubes may be applied to like iiccessories where air is to be passed, but not From theabove it. will be seen that the several objects of the invention are attained and other advantageous results achieved.

As many modifications of the embodiments above illustrated might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention, it is intended that the above descri tion and accompanying drawings and claims shall be interpreted as illus' trative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a ressure vessel provided with accessories or functioning with air, said accessories communicating internally with said vessel, the combination of, U-tubes leading from said accessories to within the vessel and blind holes provided within said vessel for receiving the ends of said tubes.

2. In a pressure vessel provided with accessories for functioning with air, said accessories communicating internally with said vessel, the combination of tubes leadin from said accessories to within the vessel an blind holes provided within said vessel for receive ing the ends of said tubes.

3. In a device of the type described the combination of a sealed vessel, a regulator thereon adapted to regulate pressures therein, an air manifold thereon, a second regulatoradapted to regulate pressure in said manifold, a blow-off valve on said vessel, U-tubes within said vessel connected ith said first named regulator and with saidXlow-ofi valve and blind holes within said vessel forreceiving the ends of said tubes.

4. In a device of the type described the combination of a sealed vessel, a regulator thereon adapted to regulate pressures there in an air manifold thereon a second regulator adapted to regulate pressure in said manifold, a blow-oil valve on said vessel, tubes within said vessel connected with said first named regulator and with said blow-ofi' valve and blind holes within said vessel for receiving the ends of said tubes. 7

5. In a pressure paintvessel comprising a pot and cover,the provision in combination of a pressure regulator on' said cover adapted to regulate the pot pressure, a blow-ofi cock on sa1d cover, blind holeson the inside of said cover, pipes within said pot and on said cover connected with said cock and regulator respectively and extending into said oles for the purpose of preventing passage of paint to the cook or regulator,'an air manifold on said cover and another regulator therefore, means for drawing paint from the bottom of said pot through said cover means for reading the low-side pressure of each regulator and a safety valve on said cover.

6. The pressure vessel comprising a pot, a removable cover therefor, at least one accessory connected to said cover for functioning with air, at least one tubular portion leading from said accessory to within the vessel and at least one blind hole provided within said cover for receiving one end of said tubular portion, the cover, accessory and tubular portion being movable as a unit.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 16th day of October, 1924.

THEODORE BIRKENMAIER. 

